The origins of bonsai art



The art of growing trees in specific pots and containers originated in Asia, specifically in China with the name of Shumu Penjing, as the ancient art of creating miniature natural landscapes in vessels using rocks was called and trees maintained in a miniaturized form through specific pruning and binding techniques.

The Chinese loved having these miniaturized wild nature elements within their gardens and turned it into a real art that later developed in other countries : in Vietnam in the form of hon non bo, which is based on small reproduction of entire panoramas, and in Japan with saikei (similar to hon non bo Vietnamese) and with bonsai.

From the origins to the modern era of bonsai

The art of bonsai itself separates itself from its Chinese ancestor about a century and a half ago, when a group of diplomats and Zen monks returned from a trip to China with miniature trees as souvenirs .

The art of bonsai, initially called hachi no ki or "pot tree", developed for about half a century, differentiating and refining itself: unlike Chinese art, the art of bonsai has a reduced number of trees and aims to give it a less wild and natural aspect, more harmonious and guided even if in appearance more simple and minimalist (typical Zen influence).

Over time, first of all the containers changed into their shapes, instead of circular and round vessels, the tendency to prefer large and low vessels, based on quadrilateral forms.

Loved by both samurai and monks and administrative officials, the art of bonsai reached its climax in the 17th century to give away, in the 18th century, the so-called classical period, where techniques and materials were definitively codified, as were all the work tools: tweezers, spatulas, brooms, small rakes, scissors, laces, hooks and brushes.

After the Second World War the Japanese Empire opened to the Western world and bonsai were exposed to a large international audience that found them intriguing, exotic and mysterious . This is where another stage in the history of bonsai began, the modern era, which developed thanks to the interest of botanists and growers from all over the world who dedicated time and passion in order to expand the techniques and the number of miniaturizable species. .

Aesthetic philosophy of bonsai

As mentioned before, Zen influence was vital for the differentiation between bonsai and penjing and this is also at the origin of the fascination that bonsai has exercised over the Western world. In fact, bonsai perfectly expresses the concept of an all-Japanese Zen aesthetic called wabi-sabi, based on the imperfection of details, uniqueness, asymmetry, emphasizing the impermanence of forms as an acceptable element both philosophically and aesthetically, a developed sensitivity and predilection towards the ephemeral .

Elements such as simplicity, austerity and parsimony are much more considered than their opposites in the Zen culture so attracted by the void. All this contrasts in a complementary way with the classical canons of European aesthetics, based on the Greek-Latin models of Olympic perfection and ideal beauty.

Bonsai embodies this philosophy of life, which recognizes imperfect nature all the beauty that Westerners generally reserve only for classical art that expresses ideal bodies and geometric shapes without defects. Not only: the bonsai tend to scarcity and not to abundance, especially in terms of leaves, pruned one by one, and they are more appreciated the less the hand of the gardener is noticed, a sign of absence of ego and contentment without the need for appreciation and applause.

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